Ligue 1: Paris Saint-Germain Party All Over Bordeaux At Le Parc

Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar shoots to score a free kick during the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bordeaux at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on September 30, 2017. (Photo by Geoffroy Van der Hasselt/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

It was a carnival atmosphere at Le Parc des Princes as Unai Emery’s Paris Saint-Germain won a wild 6-2 goal festival over Jocelyn Gourvennec’s Girondins de Bordeaux. Neymar Santos Jr. bagged a brace in the contest. The Brazilian whipped in a sweet set piece, hitting the top left corner five minutes in and converted a misdirection penalty in the 40th minute.

Edinson Cavani finished off a brilliant sequence in the 12th minute, Julian Draxler capitalized on some solid providing from Kylian Mbappe before halftime and Thomas Meunier also got on the scoresheet 21 minutes in. Mbappe himself capped off Paris’s offensive display in the 58th minute before flashing one for the cameras. PSG fan Younousse Sankhare, a former Parisien, scored in the 31st minute, and Brazilian ace Malcom scored in the 90th minute off a penalty in an excellent goal festival for the fans.

+22 – Paris have a goal difference of +22 after 8 L1 games this season, highest tally at this stage since Reims in 52/53 (+25). Incredible. pic.twitter.com/IqNnwdN4hv

“Obviously we still have exceptional players when we rotate,” said Meunier after the match. “Things are taking shape, I think. Up against a previously undefeated team, you cannot ask for more than scoring six goals. When Neymar gets the ball, we are confident in attack but we can still raise the bar. At 2-0, there was a little drop and if we had been a bit more disciplined, we could have been able to finish the match off sooner than we did and in a more beautiful fashion.

“We are not unplayable, we saw that in Montpellier — they stood up to us well. There will be teams who block us. If we can steer clear of injuries and the team continues to rotate well like this, things look promising in the Champions League and Ligue 1.”

2012 – Neymar is Paris’ 1st player to score a penalty and a direct free kick in a L1 game since Nenê (against Rennes in May 2012). Samba. pic.twitter.com/ICp00wfq5l

Paris dominated possession (60 percent to 40 percent), shots on goal (nine to four), fouls (17 to 10), and saves (four to three). It was an average performance for Alphonse Areola, but given PSG’s firepower, the margin for error was there and his situation as the No. 1 netminder for the Rouge et Bleu remains relatively safe. PSG return to action on Oct. 14 away to Dijon FCO.

Jo-Ryan Salazar is a writer for The Stoppage Time, a soccer blog powered by Azteca Soccer. A supporter of the Los Angeles Galaxy since 1996 and a committed supporter since 2002, Jo-Ryan also follows Chelsea FC, Melbourne Victory, FC Tokyo and Paris Saint-Germain. Apart from soccer, Jo-Ryan is an administrative assistant for a local nonprofit in Long Beach, California and also does photography, photo-editing and fictional writing.